Why Shepherds? The Audience of the Angel’s Proclamation

Written by Brenda Franklin-Strout

We join our journey to the City of David and the Birth of Christ in Luke chapter two. 

 Luke 2:1–20 (ESV): 1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 

      14 “Glory to God in the highest, 

      and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Growing up, this was my favorite part of the story…The Shepherds. Not the main characters, not THEE main character, but ones on the fringe of but still an integral part of the celebration of the birth of the King of the World. The coming Messiah…prophecy fulfilled. They were the Storytellers, the first three who had seen the babe and told the world about Him.  Isn’t that amazing?!  But who were these guys?  Why were THEY the ones that God used to proclaim this moment in history?  There’s a bit of a story around this dating back 700+ years before the angel of the Lord appeared to them that spoke of these men…and in this story, the very specific reason THESE specific Shepherds were called by God to witness this moment.  These things don’t just happen, God always has a plan. Let’s dig in…

What we know: These were not ordinary shepherds.  These were not the Shepherds in the wilderness, often dirty, considered the lowest of society.  No, these shepherds, according to the Mishnah, were Temple Shepherds and these men were most likely priests. You see, the Mishnah, the first Oral Torah and the first major work of rabbinic literature, talks about how these men fulfilled temple duties and in most cases, those duties were done by priests. In Israel, sheep could only be kept in the wilderness and outside the city except those kept for temple services.  These shepherds were not in the wilderness, they were outside the city of Bethlehem, keeping watch on the sheep that would be used as a sacrifice for Passover.  These shepherds were responsible for ensuring these lambs were unharmed before being sacrificed. The angel appeared to them to fulfill prophecy and to assure them that the time of animal sacrifice had come to an end. This young one, the promised Messiah…he would be the ultimate sacrifice for man’s sin through his death and resurrection.  Of course, the angel appeared to these men!  They quickly found their roles change from shepherd to evangelist in one night! 

We cannot leave out some important pieces when asking, Why Shepherds? Stay with me, it’s getting good! 

Prophesy fulfilled: 

Micah 5:2

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Bethlehem:

The people of God always knew the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, the City of David. His bloodline…A Shepherd’s Bloodline.

Micah 4:8 

And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.

The Tower: 

Migdal Eder, the Tower of the Flock, was where the lambs set aside for temple sacrifices were raised. An estimated 250,000 sheep were needed every year to accommodate the Passover sacrifices and feast. The tower of Migdal Eder provided the perfect vantage point from which the shepherds could, quite literally, watch over their flocks from above. Our shepherds from the Jesus story were indeed these Shepherds.

“He will be wrapped in swaddling cloths and found lying in a manger”:

For the temple sheep, the newborns were swaddled in specially made cloths and they would be laid in a manger so they couldn’t move around so the shepherds could look them over for any spot or blemish. Only the most perfect of sheep were brought to the marketplace to be sold as Passover lambs for sacrifice. We look at these pieces above, just a few from this story and see that these were words the Shepherds were familiar with and understood the impact of the angel’s words. And they were there for it all and set off on what would be the greatest moment in their lives and in the history of the world.  

Why Shepherds, you ask? It couldn’t have been anyone but Shepherds.  The stage had been set so many hundreds of years before and these shepherds knew the story, understood the language and were humble enough to be changed by it and repeat the story themselves. 

It couldn’t have been any other way. 

Merry Christmas, my Friends.  May the story of the shepherds inspire us all to share and celebrate the birth of Jesus in a new and fresh way.  May it spur us on to tell the story, our story, and introduce your world to the King of the World.